Westhampton Letter Carrier Freed ICE Detainee from Police Car, Feds Say

A Westhampton letter carrier allegedly helped a person escape from the back of a police vehicle in an attempt to free them from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, federal authorities said.

Tamara Mayorga-Wong is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 20 at Central Islip federal court on a charge of obstructing a federal proceeding.

“Mayorga-Wong was observed running to the rear passenger side of the vehicle, where the [unidentified detainee] was seated, and opening the door,” a federal investigator stated in court documents. “Mayorga-Wong was then heard instructing [the detainee] to flee, in Spanish. In response, [the detainee] exited the vehicle and proceeded to run away.”

Authorities said Mayorga-Wong, 57, of Westhampton Beach, confronted ICE agents on Nov. 5 as the agents detained a person outside of the 7-Eleven store next to the Westhampton Post Office on Mill Road.

“You can’t do this,” Mayorga-Wong allegedly told the agents as the agents placed the detainee into the back of the police vehicle, according to court documents.

After the detainee was taken into custody a second time, Mayorga-Wong allegedly attempted to flee the scene and resisted arrest by “kicking the law enforcement officers and flailing her arms,” according to court documents.

“Why are you doing this to your people?” Mayorga-Wong allegedly asked the arresting authorities while she was being transported to Southampton Town Police headquarters for processing, according to court documents. “What are you going to tell your children about what you do?”

Attorney information for Mayorga-Wong was not immediately available.

The incident came amid a recent spate of protests criticizing ICE’s continuing mass deportation of migrants ordered by President Donald Trump, including the recent roundup of about a dozen immigrants in Westhampton Beach and Hampton Bays. 

The roundups have proven controversial due to the administration’s tactics of deporting immigrants to nations other than their own, targeting immigrants at court houses, and widespread reports of masked agents facing allegations of using excessive force.